Hua Hsu, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of the memoir Stay True, talks at the iliad Literary-Art Magazine Artist Talk event in the Media Center on March 21. Hsu felt inspired by the passion of high school students wanting to learn about his life and memoir. “It was a real treat to come to (CCHS) and have a chance to not only talk about my experiences, but hear about what kids are thinking about, hoping for, (and) aspiring toward now,” Hsu said. “I think writing is just (the) ability to make sense of the world around you, so that’s why I do it. Hopefully people can use it to understand themselves (and) to make connections, (like how) being a journalist is a great excuse just to ask random people questions you (would) never ask them in normal life.” Photo by Isabelle Duncan, story by Isabelle Duncan

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Hua Hsu visited with Clarke Central High School students and faculty.

Nearly 70 students, community guests and faculty members gathered in the Clarke Central High School Media Center on March 21 for an author visit with 2023 Pulitzer Prize winner Hua Hsu. 

The event was organized by English department co-chair and iliad Literary-Art Magazine adviser David Ragsdale along with Media Specialists Anglea Pendley and Naomi Craver, in partnership with the University of Georgia’s Willson Center for Humanities and Arts.

“Willson Center Director Nicholas Allen and his team have provided CCHS students with myriad opportunities to meet with the movers and shakers in the world of Humanities,” Ragsdale said. “It’s a partnership that we value highly and one for which we are incredibly grateful.”

During the hour-long session, Hsu responded to prepared questions on a variety of topics from iliad Outreach Social Media Coordinator Victoria Garland and iliad Managing Editor Cate DeMaria, as well as from members of the audience.

“It was an honor getting to hear from such an accomplished writer. Hsu had a lot of insight and meaningful commentary to share with us. I left the event with new ideas and am glad I got the opportunity to speak with him,” Garland said.

For senior Katherine Queen, the opportunity to learn about Hsu’s life and his personal growth hit home.

“My biggest takeaway was when Hsu said to not take yourself too seriously. This resonated with me as I get in my own head a lot of the time which can impact my work, especially my writing. This is something that I found held me back when writing my college essays,” Queen said. “ I often would be too worried about who I was and how I see myself when I should’ve been focusing on how I could present my accomplishments to the reader.”

From answering questions to speaking with student attendees, Hsu enjoyed the opportunity to connect with young people.

“It was a real, real treat to come to part Central and just be reminded of when I was in high school and I went to things like this, but also just to have a chance to not only talk about my experiences but hear about what kids are thinking about and hoping for, aspiring toward now. It’s great,” Hsu said.

A gallery of photos taken at the Hua Hsu author visit is shown. Sophomore and iliad Literary-Art Magazine Writing Director Margo McDaniel felt grateful for the experience of getting to hear from an award winning author. “I am excited for the opportunities that artist visits pose to students at CCHS,” McDaniel said. “I think it’s a great opportunity to connect (students) with successful artists and it contributes to the goal the iliad is trying to accomplish, encouraging creativity in our school community.” Photo by Aza Khan, story by Isabelle Duncan

Willson Center Communications Director Dave Marr has worked with teachers at both CCHS and Cedar Shoals High Schools to connect artists with students and enjoyed Hsu’s talk.

“I thought he was wonderful with the CCHS students, and I know he was impressed by them,” Marr said. “Accompanying our guests on their visits to local public schools is always among the highlights of my job, and bringing Hua to Clarke Central was no exception.”

Based on the audience participation and personal takeaways, iliad Editorial Board members look forward to hosting more artist visits in the future.

“I am excited for the opportunities that artist visits pose to students at CCHS,” iliad Writing Director Margo McDaniel says. “I think it’s a great opportunity to connect them with successful artists and it contributes to the goal the iliad is trying to accomplish, encouraging creativity in our school community.”

For Marr, the partnership with with CCSD schools has been meaningful and worth continuing.

“We’re thrilled with the relationships we have with the faculty, staff, and students at Clarke Central and at Cedar Shoals, too,” Marr said, “Which allow us to partner with our public schools on events like Hua’s this week. We’re looking forward to continuing these partnerships well into the future.”

Sliding glass door

Journalism I student Liza Larson shares her main takeaways from Pulitzer prize-winning author Hua Hsu’s talk at CCHS on March 21.

On March 21, many students gathered in the Clarke Central High School Media Center to hear an author’s testimonial.

Hua Hsu, a Pulitzer Prize award-winning author and journalist shared his inspiration and experiences with CCHS students at an event hosted by the iliad Literary-Art Magazine.

An overarching theme of the visit was the use of writing as a means of self-expression. Hsu’s Pulitzer Prize winning memoir “Stay True” was about experiencing the death of a close friend when he was 18 years old. He used writing as a way to better understand himself and the grief he was experiencing.

A video of Pulitzer Prize award-winning author and journalist Hua Hsu speaking in the CCHS Media Center on March 21 is shown. Katherine Queen, senior, felt that Hsu’s advice has created an influence in the way she thinks about her writing now. “My biggest takeaway was when Hsu said to not take yourself too seriously. This resonated with me as I get in my own head a lot of the time which can impact my work, especially my writing,” Queen said. “This is something that I found held me back when writing my college essays, I often would be too worried about who I was and how I see myself when I should’ve been focusing on how I could present my accomplishments to the reader.” Photo and story by Isabelle Duncan

Through publishing his book, Hsu gave people the opportunity to begin exploring their own grief, providing a window for readers to examine their lives as well as synthesizing a traumatic time for himself and giving the memoir its personality. The intimacy of his experiences paired with the relatability of the theme of friendship give readers an introspective view.

Hsu showed the importance of diversity in monopolized spaces such as that of writers. Being an Asian American who works in a white-dominated field presented challenges for him that I will never experience. The lack of relatability between me and him provided me an opportunity to learn about and put myself in the shoes of others. I appreciate this because it took me out of my typical state of mind.

For myself as a reader I appreciate being represented within the media as well as being able to look at other people’s cultures and lives, which provides me with a way to expand my knowledge of the world.

The best part of a story is being able to look through a window at others, and a mirror of yourself –perhaps a sliding glass door.

Better understanding grief

Journalism I student Andréas Dillies shares his experience and lessons learned from a visit by Pulitzer Prize winner Hua Hsu to Clarke Central High School on March 21.

Very rarely are people so open about tragedies in their lives, which makes the openness of Hua Hsu, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist, a refreshing example for dealing with grief and moving on.

Hsu visited Clarke Central High School on March 21, talking to students about his memoir “Stay True”, which discussed his personal experiences and change after the death of his friend in a carjacking.

Hsu’s talk provided an opportunity for students to better understand grief, and to make themselves stronger emotionally. I especially found his themes of growth inspiring, almost relieving feelings of past memories to open up to the future.

In a way, everyone can see a little bit of similarity to his upbringing, while also seeing a contrast to themselves. His younger self, whom he talked about extensively in his visit and book, was very counter-culture, filled with a curiosity about the world around him, yet quite antisocial in most settings.

While not every experience is relatable, I connected with his recounting of growing up as a child of immigrants in a middle-class area, wanting to seek adventure in other areas than his hometown.

Hsu shared that you don’t have to relate to every part of someone’s experience to be comforted by the knowledge that others like you have had similar experiences and have paved the way for you to succeed.

While I’ll never relate to leaving Taiwan, I can draw similarities to my mother’s escape from Albania and working in sweatshops to pave her own future, and mine.

My greatest takeaway from Hsu’s presentation is that life is always about changing and adapting to become a better person after every struggle, but that it becomes easier with role models and people you trust. It may not be easy, but the benefits you will see are huge, be it paving a route to success from nothing, or coming to peace with the missing friend or loved one.

‘Better understanding grief’ by Andréas Dillies

‘Sliding glass door’ by Liza Larson

Package by Jesse Dantzler

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